Meet the Alumni

Chris Ives

Ilkley, UK

Industry

Beverages

Year founded

2009

Business

Ilkley Brewery

Partner College

Leeds University Business School

The Goldman Sachs
10,000 Small Businesses programme gave me the confidence to rewrite our business plan with more ambition and to approach business angels saying, ‘here we are, we think this is great, come and join us’.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Ilkley Brewery is a multi-award winning craft brewery in the Yorkshire spa-town of Ilkley that manufactures and distributes cask conditioned real ale and bottled beers.

CHALLENGES

Chris applied to 10,000 Small Businesses because Ilkley Brewery had outgrown its premises and he wanted to learn how best to raise capital to fund his ambitions for business expansion.

RESULTS

Chris has moved premises since participating in 10,000 Small Businesses programme. He has also tripled the number of people he employs, reinvented the Ilkley Brewery brand and developed a successful partnership with another business that he met through the programme.